Welsh actor Kai Owen has spoken about the challenges of shooting his tough scenes as a paedophile in Hollyoaks and says he "thanks the lord" he's nothing like his evil character.

The former Torchwood star plays Pete, the boyfriend of bad girl Reenie McQueen (Zoe Lucker) in the long-running Channel 4 soap, which has tackled tough issues like male rape, bullying and suicide attempts in the past.

But while he seems like the charming, warm dad which Reenie's daughters never had, in reality he's a paedophile who has already abused Porsche (Twinnie-Lee Moore) and is now grooming Cleo (Nadine Mulkerrin).

None of the sisters have confided in each other about their experiences, and so the cycle of abuse continues.

Owen, who played Rhys in Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, told the Radio Times, "I have to remember I'm just acting and thank the lord, I'm nothing like Pete.

"I was very similar to Rhys in Torchwood, I am a loveable Welsh bloke who likes his food and beer... but with this part I can feel the difference."

The cast have been working with the NSPCC on the controversial plot and spent the day with survivors of sexual abuse.

"I just feel passionate about telling the story," said Owen, who is originally from Llanrwst and has also appeared in TV dramas Waterloo Road and The Syndicate. "Because if it helps anybody come out of a hell that they are in then we've done our job."

Former Footballers Wives actress Lucker added: "It happens so regularly with a member of the family who does do what Pete does, who grooms them, who makes everybody love them, makes everyone feel safe.

"He does it to Reenie, all his family and all his friends. And that's when it's so dangerous because children... don't know it's necessarily wrong, what these people are doing, because they're so very, very clever, so manipulative and so calculating.

"And that's what we're trying to put across here, it's not just the high profile stories [in the news] that go on, it's happening all the time. It's the grooming part of things that people know so little about."

Away from his tough storylines, Owen recently teamed up with his former Torchwood co-star Eve Myles to climb Snowdon to raise money for three-year-old Dewi James from Pontypridd who needs an operation in a bid to prevent him becoming wheelchair bound for the rest of his life.